Thanksgiving Blend Fit for a Feast

Monday, November 15, 2010

Posted by Chris Gimbl, product manager

A little more than three years ago, I found myself sitting in the private dining room of a well-known and much-loved Seattle restaurant. With me around the table were an iconic Seattle restaurateur, one of his executive chefs, three coffee experts and a host of people just happy to be there. (As the product manager for the yet-to-be-introduced Thanksgiving Blend, I was one of those.)

We had narrowed our search for the perfect coffee to accompany arguably the year’s most important dinner to two amazing blends. Our mission was simple, yet daunting: drink coffee, eat an amazing Thanksgiving feast, talk about the coffee and select the next great Starbucks blend.

As we explored the feast and sipped the coffee, each of the blends seemed to change with every bite. The herbal stuffing brought out the best in the Sumatra component of one, while a tea-like elegance in the other cut through the heavy, creamy gravy.

When dessert came out –an amazing butternut squash pumpkin upside-down cake – one coffee clearly emerged. Only this blend of herbal Sumatra and delicate, cocoa-y Guatemala Antigua coffees could hope to accompany everything in the meal, from start to finish. Those of us around the table agreed. Three years later, we still agree. And three years later, I’m thankful to have been involved in this coffee’s creation.